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Shortage vs Overage - What's the difference?

shortage | overage |

As nouns the difference between shortage and overage

is that shortage is a lack or deficiency; an insufficient amount while overage is a surplus of inventory or capacity or of cash that is greater than the amount in the record of an account.

As an adjective overage is

having an age that is greater than a stipulated minimum.

shortage

English

Noun

(wikipedia shortage) (en noun)
  • A lack or deficiency; an insufficient amount.
  • *{{quote-magazine, date=2013-08-03, volume=408, issue=8847, magazine=(The Economist)
    • , title= Yesterday’s fuel , passage=The dawn of the oil age was fairly recent. Although the stuff was used to waterproof boats in the Middle East 6,000 years ago, extracting it in earnest began only in 1859 after an oil strike in Pennsylvania.

    Antonyms

    * glut * mountain (as in butter mountain)

    Related terms

    * outage

    See also

    * drought * famine * ration * rationing

    overage

    English

    Etymology 1

    Adjective

    (en adjective)
  • Having an age that is greater than a stipulated minimum.
  • Too old to be of use in a particular situation.
    • Antonyms
    * (l)

    Etymology 2

    Noun

    (en noun)
  • A surplus of inventory or capacity or of cash that is greater than the amount in the record of an account.
  • A state of being more than one ought to be.
    • You're entitled to bring a bag weighing fifty pounds onto the airplane, and will be charged extra for any overage .